The Energon Pub

News Credits: 387 · by **Nekoman** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 1:44 pm

The latest of the cheap low quality transformer knock-offs are Powerglide and Cosmos.

Powerglide
http://cgi.ebay.com/Transformers-G1-Reissue-Powerglide-NEW_W0QQitemZ310004123456QQihZ021QQcategoryZ4696QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Cosmos
http://cgi.ebay.com/Transformers-G1-Reissue-Cosmos-NEW_W0QQitemZ310004125287QQihZ021QQcategoryZ4696QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

These horrible people who make are lives harder as collectors.

News Credits: 4 · by **Briggs** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 1:50 pm

Can't we report that to ebay, as it's not a real reissue and that it is a knock off and they aren't telling us that in the auction

by **Glitcher** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:12 pm

Could have fooled me. When toys look this official, does it matter whether or not they're KO's? Can you actually spot the difference?

News Credits: 5 · by **skywarp-2** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:15 pm

I'd Buy em... :grin:

News Credits: 2 · by **Sid Burn** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:15 pm

This auction is one of the more collector friendly ones.

The auction states that these are "reissues" which if you know your transformers is a tip off that these are KO.

Cosmos and Pwerglide have not been officially reissued in individual packages, only in the Takara Dreamwave bookbox set.

Its the KO beachcomber and Seaspray that are harder to discern as real or KO. Note for those wondering, Beachcomber KO has the autobot stamp on his chest where the official Beachcomber had a robot part sticker on his chest.

by **Kimmer** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:18 pm

is this crap ever going to end. isn't this a form of fraud?

News Credits: 3 · by **DISCHARGE** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:30 pm

Kimmer wrote:is this crap ever going to end. isn't this a form of fraud?

Seeing as China won't crack down on bootleggers
there isn't a whole lot than can be done. Just live with it.
Remember, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

News Credits: 2 · by **TFBuyer** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:32 pm

Glitcher wrote:Could have fooled me. When toys look this official, does it matter whether or not they're KO's? Can you actually spot the difference?

I think you've already found the problem... The fun starts when you get it out of the package, try to transform it, and it snaps in half because of shoddy craftsmanship...

News Credits: 2 · by **Sid Burn** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:42 pm

TFBuyer wrote:
Glitcher wrote:Could have fooled me. When toys look this official, does it matter whether or not they're KO's? Can you actually spot the difference?

I think you've already found the problem... The fun starts when you get it out of the package, try to transform it, and it snaps in half because of shoddy craftsmanship...

QFT, it really bothers me that so many members seem apathetic to the vast difference in quality and care put into these KOs. Enjoy the new Metroplex KO kiddies, til it snaps in half after one transformation.

News Credits: 2 · by **TFBuyer** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 2:49 pm

Sid Burn wrote:
TFBuyer wrote:
Glitcher wrote:Could have fooled me. When toys look this official, does it matter whether or not they're KO's? Can you actually spot the difference?

I think you've already found the problem... The fun starts when you get it out of the package, try to transform it, and it snaps in half because of shoddy craftsmanship...

QFT, it really bothers me that so many members seem apathetic to the vast difference in quality and care put into these KOs. Enjoy the new Metroplex KO kiddies, til it snaps in half after one transformation.

Amen. Here, as in many areas of life, looks ain't everything.

Website · by **DeathNoble** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 3:11 pm

Its one thing to buy a wonky colored KO of a G1 combiner, like my KO Bruticus'es. $6 for the entire set. Colors are damn near hippie style obviously marking it as a KO. Then the price tag is about $3-$6. Which in my opinion, is what its worth. But when you have a KO of G1 Metroplex in the same colors & proportions and looks exactly like a reissue... Then it carries the SRP of the figure back when it was on the shelf! Then we step into the real of plastic quality. $70 for a figure that has the same quality as my wonky-hippie Bruticus? No, thank you.

by **Gutter Bunny** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 3:17 pm

Glitcher wrote:Could have fooled me. When toys look this official, does it matter whether or not they're KO's? Can you actually spot the difference?

We are entering dead horse territory here...but my opinion is yes. While they may look the same and even to some extent function the same, they could never be more than placeholders for me. Furthermore...they are minibots, its not like the originals are astronimically expensive to begin with...so why would we need ko's.

but to each their own

News Credits: 387 · by **Nekoman** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 4:17 pm

skywarp-2 wrote:I'd Buy em...

Might want to think twice about that, with the encore line out I wouldn’t be surprised if they reissued the minibots, especially considering how popular small toys are in Japan.

News Credits: 1 · by **Sherade** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 4:25 pm

Well, there are people who wouldn't know htses are Ko's, so whoever actions this is jerky of the finest quality.

But who'd pay 10 bucks for a minibot? Are they even worth that?
(Tell me they are,because I can say mine are wotrth actually protecting)

News Credits: 972 · by **i_amtrunks** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 4:45 pm

Front Paged and Credited.

It's really sucky when obvious KO's are listed as "Re-issues".

News Credits: 49 · by **Scaleface** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 4:55 pm

I heard ebay was cracking down on the word "knockoff". If they call them knockoffs in the listing ebay might end the listing early - so they have to say "reissue" or "chinese made" or some other way without saying "knockoff". At least they are not saying flat out "Powerglide C10 MOSC case fresh original toy!" These auctions are clearly being honest about the toy's origins as a reissue. They don't say "hasbro reissue".

As for snapping in half when you take them out of the package, that's happened on several of my "real" Transformers anyways. Who would open a MISP G1 Mini-Bot from 1985? A loose one can be gotten on ebay very easily to play with. Keep sealed toys from that long ago sealed people!

News Credits: 1 · by **mattyc1007** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 5:40 pm

yeah there been bumble bees and beachcombers for ages on ebay.co.uk

News Credits: 8 · by **Liege Evilmus** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 5:54 pm

There's a couple versions of BB,CliffJumper, and SeaSpray floating around too.

Funny though, you can normaly get the minibots in lot auctions for pennies on what they ORIGIONALY cost.

But hell if you want a carded thing that looks like something you want, here ya go!

by **dabattousai** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 6:34 pm

The arms on Cosmos seem to be put on wrong. I know the turrets are suppose to his fingers and yet they are in the air and I know that putting them down will cause the green side to be in the front instead of the yellow.

News Credits: 409 · by **Stormrider** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 7:14 pm

This just adds more fuel to the cause why Takara is moving their factories out of China.

by **Wes Crayon** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 7:51 pm

I'd like to see the real versions of these figures reissued, actually. In any case, I wouldn't pay $25 apiece for these, but I'd sure pay $5-$7 if I happened upon them in Chinatown.

by **GenX** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 10:03 pm

"Luckily it will be very easy to tell true G1 Cosmos from this Knock Off variety, as the Knock Off labels Cosmos as a "Spase Ship".

...and, if I'm not mistaken, Cosmos'es arms are on backwards...

by **doomseer** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:16 am

Call me devious but I find this stuff very off-putting so i have logged in to an old ebay account I have and posted a question saying " Why have you listed these as re-issues when they are obviously low quality copies that are not licensed by hasbro or takara?" ( or words to that effect) Now when anybody looks at the listings before they bid they will also see that question and whatever answer he puts up also and hopefully realise what these truly are. This kind of product should not be sold unless it is absolutely clear that they are of a much lower plastic quality and are not licensed, regardless of the fact that these are copyrighted designs and this auction breaks several laws EVERY country has ( yes - even china! ). Have I done the right thing?

by **rob_charb** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 4:31 am

[quote=doomseer]Have I done the right thing?[/quote]

Hell yes, you've done the right thing. It disgusts me when I see these blatantly obvious KOs being listed as re-issues. It's even worse when the KO looks almost like the real thing to the point where only a very astute collector would be able to tell the difference. They're not re-issues if they're not official. Yes, the company may have gotten hold of the molds, but that's all they have the right to use.

People just getting back into collecting or collecting for the first time could easily be fooled into thinking this was an official Hasbro/Takara product.

News Credits: 3597 · by **Seibertron** » Wed Feb 22, 2023 10:38 pm

Does anyone know the difference between an official G1 vintage Cosmos and the KOs from the past 15 years? Trying to find one on ebay to replace my beat up one from when I was a kid. I swear I thought I had replaced him years ago, but I think I was just using the reissues in place of an original. This all gets hard to keep track of after so many years and 10s of thousands of Transformers later.